1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ornaments and, more particularly, to transparent ornaments.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ornaments are used as decorations to create an aesthetically pleasing effect, particularly during a holiday season. Ornaments, such as Christmas tree ornaments, may have many shapes, sizes, and colors. However, the most common ornament is a globe having a decorative finish and a hanger for attachment to a support, such as a tree branch.
A personalized ornament can be created from raw materials, such as papier-mache, paint, and the like. Moreover, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,694,648 to Yates, a photograph or photographic transparency 12 can be received in a holder 15 disposed in a transparent or translucent housing. A lamp and a lens 31 can be positioned on opposite sides of holder 15 for projecting light through the photograph or photographic transparency and for limiting viewing within the housing to the area of the photograph or photographic transparency. U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,667 to Rusch discloses an ornament formed from a plurality of housing-forming members 6 which can be snapped together to form a hollow sphere. A greeting card blank 10 can be positioned inside the hollow sphere and indicia or photographs can be mounted on the greeting card blank. U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,364 to Hunt discloses an ornament display container formed from a pair of housing sections connected together by a connecting ring. Pictures can be positioned back-to-back on opposite sides of the housing ring for viewing through the housing sections.
A disadvantage of prior art ornaments is the need for mounting hardware to support pictures within the ornaments. This mounting hardware increases the cost and complexity of these prior art ornaments, and, in some instances, may interfere with the aesthetics of the ornament. Another disadvantage is the inability to view an image received in the ornament from both sides thereof.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the above disadvantages and others by providing an ornament that is easy to assemble and which enables images received on a film substrate positioned in the ornament to be viewed from both sides of the substrate. Still other objects will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description.